Detached air cell? Bubbles in my eggs

[Gabbymassicotte]

Today I picked up some hatching eggs from a local farmer. I let them sit at room temperature for about 4 hours, I always candle my eggs before putting them in my incubator to make sure there are no cracks or anything out of the ordinary. I have never dealt with detached air cells before so I am not exactly sure what it looks like, or how to fix/deal with it. When I candled the eggs in a few of them there were some bubbles floating around in the egg and from other pictures online that means the air cell is detached. Could anyone give me some advice on how to handle or fix these eggs?

 

[FluffyButtBabies]

Don't turn them for a few days. Maybe 5 (I can't quite remember). Make sure the heavy end of the egg is tilted/facing upwards and the narrower side downwards. This should get the air placement correct. Then by not turning them, the membrane starts to repair itself around the air cell. But you have to do this for the first days of incubation, or else it will heal in the wrong spot. Then you can candle them again, see if anything changed, and start turning. But always keep the heavy end tilted higher. There are several articles online on how to handle shipped eggs too, if want better instructions. I'l tell you though, hatching shipped eggs is a lot harder than getting fresh eggs. Out of 24 shipped eggs I received this year, only 4 hatched. And out of those four, one had minor hatching complications and the other was born with a mild lung issue. That's not to say shipping eggs is a BAD method, it just takes a lot of TLC! Good luck!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I have never dealt with detached air cells and a lot of people recommend leaving the eggs large end up for days.
I, on the other hand, disagree with this approach. I believe that a detached air cell or bubbles in the albumen means that the inner membrane has ruptured to allow the air to go into the albumen. Standing the eggs up may cause the air to move back to the large end but it won't repair the membrane.
Turning is most critical the first two weeks of incubation so standing the eggs up for days will lose some of those most critically important days, when the allantois and chorion membranes feeding the embryo grow.
My approach would be to turn as frequently as possible the first two weeks. Then leave the eggs vertical with the large end up and let the air bubbles collect at top in time for pipping.

 

[FluffyButtBabies]

"With shipped eggs that have air cell damage, it's best to have them incubate in the upright position the entire time of incubation, without turning them at all for the first 7 days. This stabilizes the air cell and gives the embryo a better chance to start growing and get strong. After the first week, is is okay to start "turning" the eggs, by tipping them back and forth or side to side, always leaving the eggs in the upright position. Eggs that have the air cells damaged so bad that they'll shift all the way down the side of the egg have successfully been hatched doing it this way. To get them to hatch you first have to get the embryo growing & building up strength."

I got that from here: https://www.facebook.com/notes/alab...cessfully-hatch-shipped-eggs/133243453534988/

I've hatched hundreds of shipped eggs throughout the years, and I can guarantee it's how you're supposed to do it.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I can also guarantee that not turning during the first 7 days affects nutrient uptake in the embryo and negatively affects chick vitality.
https://www.pasreform.com/en/knowledge/10/the-biology-behind-egg-turning

I would rather get my incubation information from one of the world's leading poultry incubation experts, Dr. Marleen Boerjan
https://en.engormix.com/MA-poultry-...jan-pas-reform-hatchery-technology-t17346.htm
and the top commercial incubator manufacturer
https://www.pasreform.com/en/about
than from a Facebook page.

You may continue to try to hatch without turning. I will continue to turn as frequently as possible in the first 10 days.

 

[FluffyButtBabies]

I guess everyone has their own method! There really isn't a right or wrong way. As long as the chicks are healthy

 

[Juju2773]

Today I picked up some hatching eggs from a local farmer. I let them sit at room temperature for about 4 hours, I always candle my eggs before putting them in my incubator to make sure there are no cracks or anything out of the ordinary. I have never dealt with detached air cells before so I am not exactly sure what it looks like, or how to fix/deal with it. When I candled the eggs in a few of them there were some bubbles floating around in the egg and from other pictures online that means the air cell is detached. Could anyone give me some advice on how to handle or fix these eggs?

Hi, In my personal experience in incubating several batches of shipped eggs, every batch had been shaken up in the postal system and had detached air cells. I had a much better hatch rate when I went ahead and turned them straight from the first day of incubating. Three Seperate batches that I tried not turning the first two to three days ..all ...died early. The loose ones that I turned from the start, I stood them fat end up in egg carton section on lockdown day (19th day)and most hatched fine. I would recommend turning them until lockdown and being sure to stand them fat end up on lockdown. It worked best for me.

 

[igorsMistress]

Since these eggs weren't shipped I'd like to see those air cells. In my experience the tiny bubbles and air cells in fresh eggs might move around a little bit but this does not necessarily mean the air cells are detached. I've received shipped eggs that had air cells move all the way down the side to the narrow end of the egg. I left them to sit for 24 hours, then turned them 2 or 3 times a day for 3ish days. When I candled again they'd done a pretty good job of repairing themselves so I plugged in the turner. I incubate vertically rather than horizontally. Some air cells were badly saddled in the end anyway but I had 14/25 hatch in one batch, 12/12 in the other.

In a study I read, some eggs were turned for 7 days, some for 14 and others for the standard 18. There wasn't really a difference in hatch rate after 14 days vs 18.

I too would read studies rather than trust anything on facebook.

 

[FluffyButtBabies]

Like I said, hatching the eggs without turning them first is just my personal method. I've always used it with decent results. But maybe next time I'll try the way you guys are saying! I'll see if it's better!

 

[NatJ]

Like I said, hatching the eggs without turning them first is just my personal method. I've always used it with decent results. But maybe next time I'll try the way you guys are saying! I'll see if it's better!

If you really want to know which works better, you could turn half of the batch. Just label them with a pencil (maybe T for Turn and N for No turning), so you can keep straight which ones get which treatment. And it's easy to count at the end, to know how many of each type hatched, when the shells are labeled.